Bridge on popular Bainbridge path closed for repairs

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — The Waterfront Park pedestrian bridge that many residents use will continue to be closed while Seattle engineering firm KPFF conducts a structural assessment on the bridge’s condition.

The bridge, which dates approximately back to the 1980s, was closed for safety reasons Sept. 19 by the city of Bainbridge following a recommendation by KPFF. It was discovered that one of the four wood piles that support the approximately 40-meter bridge had deteriorated from the inside out.

According to a city news release, each of the four timber piles that support the bridge are 11 inches in diameter. In the worst places, the damaged pile has only about half an inch of solid wood around its outside edge. The rest of the pile is rotted.

Chris Hammer, a city engineering manager, said an estimate on how much it will cost to replace the bridge will be determined by KPFF.

Repairs will take at least a month.

Hammer said the bridge piling deteriorated over time naturally and not due to an accident, such as a boat ramming into it.

In addition to pedestrian access, the city has water and sewer lines attached to the bridge that provide water and sewer service to the eastern portion of the Winslow area.

Bicyclist Faye Baier found the bridge closure mostly inconvenient.

“I’ve lived here for 28 years and (the bridge) has always been here,” Baier said. “It adds about two blocks.”